Amalion participated at the Talentueux Indés forum organised by the Paris-based literary agency Pierre Astier during the Foire du Livre du Bruxelles, 14-17 February 2019. Ed Nawotka did a piece on this exciting fair in Publishers Weekly.
Brussels Book Fair Plays Matchmaker
By Ed Nawotka, Feb 22, 2019, Publishers Weekly
The Foire du Livre du Bruxelles, known in English as the Brussels Book Fair, celebrated its 50th anniversary this month with a new international program aimed at raising the event’s profile. Held February 14–17, this year’s fair, which serves the French-speaking community in Belgium, attracted 72,000 visitors, up 5% from 2018.
Nearly 1,300 exhibitors registered for the event, including most of the top trade publishing houses from Belgium, France, and Quebec, such as Actes Sud, Bragelonne, Gallimard, and Seuil. Numerous Belgian book retailers also exhibited, such as Librebook, a Brussels bookstore that offers titles in 20 European languages.
This year’s fair featured a revamped professional program spearheaded by FLB director Gregory Laurent and Paris literary agents Pierre Astier and Laure Pécher. “The intent is to establish Brussels as a premier venue for French publishers to exhibit, reach out to readers, and to discuss potential rights deals and other opportunities to develop business relationships,” Laurent said at a dinner party attended by several of the fair’s keynote speakers, including Michael Chabon from the U.S., Boualem Sansal from Algeria, and Kim Thúy from Québec.